A (longish) book meme

I'm a sucker for surveys and questionaires. This one I found especially interesting, and decided to fill it out for myself.

If anyone cares to, I'd like to have your imput on the questions I've highlighted in purple.


Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?

Hardback, unless it’s a book I read often and want to take everywhere with me.

Online purchase or brick and mortar?

Online if I know exactly what I want. Otherwise, browsing through old bookstores is the way to go.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

Don’t care for either, really. Not much of a selection and ridiculous prices.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

Bookmark. I have one that I use often. Although it’s only a scrap of pink paper, I like it because it’s from my brother, Matt. He wrote some very nice sentiments and a verse in calligraphy on it.

Mark or not mark?

I’d love people’s input on this. I used to have a horror of marked books. It seemed almost sacrilegious--like drawing mustaches on paintings of famous people.
Then I discovered that it really helps to underline important points/quotes so I can find them later. Currently I do this in non-fiction books that I’m studying in depth or planning to write a review on.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

By subject, actually.

Keep, throw away, or sell?

Keep. Unless it was rotten.

Keep dust jacket or toss it?

Keep.

Read with dust jacket or remove it?

Remove.

Crack the spine or leave it unbroken?

That sounds so cruel. However, I do habitually crack spines…on books of sheet music.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?

Collection, if I like the author. Anthology, if I want to find something new.

Short story or novel?

I like both.

Fiction or nonfiction?

Fiction. This because it is the genre in which authors have exhibited the most excellence. Who ever heard of a nonfiction book that could be appreciated for it’s literary quality alone? How many times have you read a nonfiction book remarkable for original metaphor? It is in nonfiction that I find the most glaring grammatical errors. It’s sad, really.

One book at a time or have several in process at the same time?

It is very rare to find me reading one book exclusively. This said, I must admit that I do not possess the mental gymnastic ability required to read more than one book at the same moment in time. ;)

Lord of the Rings or Narnia?

LotR, hands down, no question about it. That is one great book. I need to write something about it on here!

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

I hardly even notice chapters.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

Depends on the story, doesn’t it?

Buy or Borrow?

Borrow first. Then if I like it, I’ll try to buy it eventually.
I can’t imagine what my budget would look like if I had to buy all the books I read!

New or used?

Don’t really care. I just want books that aren’t falling apart.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?

Browse. I might pick up a book because I’ve heard about it somewhere, but I (usually) won’t buy ‘til I’ve had it in my hands first and glanced through it.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?

Tidy. Unless there’s a sequel. Then it doesn’t matter so much.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or night time reading?

All of the above.

Stand-alone or series?

I don’t mind short series—three or four at the most. But most series can’t stop there. (gotta keep a “good thing” going!)

Favorite series?

Oh…the Little House books, I guess. Anne of Green Gables and the Happy Hollisters come pretty close, though.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

Heiland, by Franklin Sanders. It’s a book about America in the late 21st century, as it would be if the country keeps going in the direction it’s headed morally. Scary.

Favorite books read last year?

Dorothy Sayers’ mysteries.

Favorite book of all time?

The Bible. It changes my life daily.

For uninspired literature, I must again mention The Lord of the Rings.